Research Articles

Media History in a ‘Peripheric Modernity’: Television in Argentina 1951-1969

Author:

Mirta Varela

Faculty of Social Sciences University of Buenos Aires

Abstract

Since the beginnings of television in Argentina – from the images of Peron and Evita in 1951– to the satellite transmission from the moon by the USA in 1969, we can establish a connection from the national sphere to the global one, from a public channel to a private system of television with economic investments by American groups. In this respect, we wonder what it means to make media history in a society where modernity has been characterized as ‘peripheral.’ In other words, modernity is decentered: technology comes from abroad, national groups cannot afford investments, and history becomes asynchronous, the result of the amalgamation of traditional and modern. In what sense can television be considered a national medium when it is marked by the coexistence of very local programmes and the growing presence of a global culture?

How to Cite:
Varela, M., (2007). Media History in a ‘Peripheric Modernity’: Television in Argentina 1951-1969. Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture. 4(4), pp.84–102. DOI: http://doi.org/10.16997/wpcc.114